Among messianic Jews much has been said concerning the parallels between the sacrifices of the paschal lamb and that of Yeshua. After all the paschal lamb was the Korban Pesach, the essential sacrifice which God commanded the children of Israel to make before liberating them from bondage to the Pharaoh of Egypt and bringing...Read more »

Listen to an audio version At first glance Torah can be a tough read for those concerned about animal welfare. Much of the first ten chapters of Leviticus contain cultic material, especially in parsha Vayikra that, that concerns itself with sacrifice, which is more than occasionally of the animal variety. Though this brutal instruction...Read more »

Listen to an audio version When I was a boy in the 60’s my two favorite cartoons were the popular Flintstones and Jetsons. While Hanna-Barbera Studios produced both, the Flintstones was “the modern stone-age family” while the Jetsons was the “space-age” family of the future. Ironically though, both families were really tongue in cheek...Read more »

The Torah portion for this week, Tetsaveh, literally “means you shall command.” It contains the remainder of the divine instruction for the building and operation of the Mishkan, the unique tabernacle in which Hashem promises to dwell with Israel during our travels through the Sinai wilderness. It represents much more than a temporary vocation...Read more »

In the classic Broadway musical “Fiddler On the Roof” the main character Tevye the dairyman ironically quips while entreating G-d, “I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t You choose someone else?” In his frustration, Tevye echoes 4000 years of Jewish experience. At first blush it would appear...Read more »

Listen to an audio version “ I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer be active.” With that surprising realization, Moses begins his final address to the children of Israel. When Moses completes this address he will have accomplished what few others take the opportunity to do. With the...Read more »

People don’t get along all of the time. We are often tired or stressed out and it can be hard to keep our cool when someone cuts us off on the highway during the commute, let their kids run amuck in the restaurant, or let their dog mark its territory on our front lawn....Read more »

Listen to an audio version I have spent a significant amount of time over the past two decades teaching in various and sundry churches concerning the importance and efficacy of the people of Israel. It has always been my intention to articulate the ongoing relationship between the God of Israel and the People of...Read more »

Listen to an audio version Recently I was in a Barnes and Noble and was surprised to discover that while the Judaism and the Spirituality sections seemed to be shrinking, the largest book section by far was the one dedicated to Paranormal Romance novels. Spawned by the phenomenal success of the Twilight series, teen...Read more »

This is a “leap year” for Israel’s lunar calendar. The Jewish “leap year”, which occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle, has 13 months instead of the regular year’s 12. This is so that the lunar-based Jewish year should remain aligned with the solar seasons (12 lunar months make up a total of 354...Read more »